The present invention relates to an envelope inserting machine for processing varying sized of insert material which is loaded by a machine operator into a plurality of feeders in the inserter. The scope of the envelope inserting machine is such that a wide range of sizes of sheets, documents, tabulating cards or other enclosure material is processed and deposited into envelopes which are registered and appropriately positioned on the output end of the machine.
The typical envelope inserting machine has a frame for supporting the plurality of feeders an an aligned row. Each feeder is programmed to deliver one or more documents by a predetermined method which utilizes a signaling device such as a printed code on a master enclosure document. In this way, the feeders deliver sequential enclosures to a cyclic conveyor, which in turn pushes the individual or stacked enclosures along a path leading to an appropriate waiting envelope located downstream at an inserting station.
It is along the conveying path that the enclosures are pushed where document jams and lateral misguiding of the enclosures frequently occurs and which in turn results in decreased effectiveness of the through-put capability of the inserting machine due to machine down time and increased operator maintenance. The guiding devices presently utilized for lateral positioning and guiding of the enclosure documents provides undesirable gaps, openings and seams for causing those documents to become jammed at their leading end corners or lateral edges.
The apparatus to be defined and described in the present disclosure has been instrumental in virtually eliminating the foregoing mentioned problems with respect to jams of moving document enclosures. In addition, there is a need to have a document guide apparatus which is readily interchangeable between different sheet guide areas of the sheet processing machine in those cases where the length of the sheet or document may vary from one document feed station to another. In some instances, it is advantageous to be able to match the guide apparatus to the document width and length. Therefore, having briefly described the background of the present invention, a brief summary of the prior art is now provided.